a whole bunch of cards!

Alphabet Challenge-Kindness

Craft Your Passion-Anything Goes

Glitter and Sparkle- Use a Butterfly

When we recently went for a week up to Quebec we had a lot of people help out with our fur babies so in thanks for all the help they did, I created the same style cards for each one just in different colours. This was strange for me to do because I normally do not repeat the same style card because I feel like I am on a conveyor belt but it felt right because I created 5. The only up close one I forgot to take a picture of was the pink one which ended up going to my hubby's sister. I stamped the same flower motif on white cardstock and used 2 different colour hues for the same flower. I took strips of vellum, heat-embossed the thank-you saying in the corresponding colour, stamped & heat-embossed the butterfly on some and the dragonfly on others and adhered it to the main card. I added sticker borders that I coloured along with stickles for the dots and the cards got finished. This took longer than I thought but I like the results. On to the next....

Eclectic Ellapu-Pink Team-Floral

Animal Friends-Summer

I had a ducky time creating these fun cards. They are not that hard to do as they just involve layering and layering for a 3D look. I love the first 2 because they are summery looking and I love blue:) They are all carrying flowers for someone special which I think is tweet...OK I'll stop:) They will be hanging around for a while since these are suited for kids especially girls. If you would like one of these I don't mind sending one to you:)

Simon Says-Anything Goes

I tried something new with this card which is called kissing. No I did not kiss the card, I may beat to my own drummer but I am not that weird. I was going to enter this at Happy Little Stampers but I missed the boat! The background lilac ..er...blob was stamped in lilac and then I stamped my music notes stamp in a dark red and I placed that stamp on top of the lilac blob stamp. I took my lilac blob and stamped it on white paper and Voila! I have the kissed look. I used a dye cut for the leaves which I sponged in a soft green and I stamped the rose in a pink pearl, embossed it with my heating tool and then used my pastels to colour the rose. I adhered it to this nice white paper and stamped the saying in Lilac and embossed it as well.

Last Card...

Eclectic Ellapu-Purple Team-It's a Man Thing

Tuesday Throwdown- Happy Birthday

I tried something new! I bought these colour bursts. They are powders which you just sprinkle a bit on a piece of paper and spritz in with water and watch the colours burst forth and blend. You can keep watering it down until you like the look. To me, this almost looks like fireworks. I took some of my stash of coloured paper and embossed the green card with my cuddlebug. I used some fancy scissors  to cut the red paper and gold paper and embossed the red with my cuddlebug. I gues it all together to make this card. I used my sizzex to cut the corner pieces and glued them in adding the green crystals and leaves. I heat embossed the leaf and dragonfly. For a final flourish, I added the Happy Birthday sticker. This card went to my brother who celebrated his Freedom 55 Birthday.

I have made a couple more which I plan to show later this week.

Thursday Movie Picks-World War 1

This is a genre I love...Yup, War films especially films about the 2 world wars. I guess it is because my dad fought in World War 2 and my mom experienced the horrors living through it as a German and the aftermath when the Russians marched in and starvation took hold. I also listened to my grandfather  who lived through World War 1 but was too young to fight as he was 17 when the war ended but he and my grandmother remembered how horrible it was after the first world war with the German mark being worth less than dirt. Anyway I had so many to pick from, The Blue Max, Laurence of Arabia to the newest film by Russell Crowe but I am saving that film for a later blog post. Check out what the other people have picked by heading on over to Wandering Through The Shelves. Time to dust off the cobwebs because I went really old school...

1. WINGS-1927

When I first saw this film, I was blown away by the magnificent stunt flying which was pretty close to the real thing since the director, the wild William Wellman was part of the famous French  Lafayette Flying Corp. after he was already in the French Foreign Legion. This film concerns 2 men both wanting the affections of the same girl. Another girl, played by Clara Bow who was the biggest star at that time, loves the one boy who is dumb not to see it. The 2 men volunteer for duty and are sent off to war. Bow's character also joins as a nurse. The climax of the film is the huge location shooting of the battle of Saint-Mihiel. Wellman used over 3,000 military men for the battle sequence along with over 300 pilots and hundreds of extras. I would love to see this restored film on the big screen with a full orchestra as it was meant to be seen.

2. ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT-1930

This film left me truly humbled because it speaks about the uselessness of war. It takes place from the German point of view but it could be any view really. The main actor, Lew Ayers was so taken by the making of this film that he refused to fight in World War 2 and was vilified until it was found that he volunteered for the Red Cross and was often in grave danger.  It starts in a school for boys where a dumb old teacher riles up the patriotism of these young boys to join and fight when war is declared. Soon these young men find out the true meaning of what war is and how much it takes from their souls. We live through one man's experiences through the whole war and realize how futile it truly is. I will read the book one day by Erich Maria Remarque who was a German and fought in World War 1. By the way, some of the battle scenes are used in documentaries about this war.

3. LE GRANDE ILLUSION

Another great film that leaves me speechless. The director is the famous Jean Renoir, yup the child of the famous impressionist Auguste Renoir, who created a masterpiece about war, class distinction, honour, fear, prejudice...you name it. 2 French soldiers, of different backgrounds, fly up to view something they saw in a photo that looked suspicious and are shot down. They are taken to a German POW camp where the head of the camp, played brilliantly by Erich Von Stroheim,  feels a kinship with his fellow aristocratic French man and they often speak of older times. The more, leader of the peasants, Jean Gabin, feels anger at what is happening and he, along with many others, try to escape. They end up in a very tight POW camp where, it is claimed, no one can escape. You see how the soldiers entertain themselves and how they relate to one another. the great thing about this film (there are numerous great things) is everyone speaks their own language so we hear French, German and English. I can't recommend this film enough.

Which films would you choose?

Our Trip To the Richelieu River

My hubby and I are not able to get away too often between all our fur babies, my mom and money money. I would love to say we toured around Tuscany but that is only in my dreams....for now. We had a great time away and very much needed to just chill (if one can in the 35C heat), have a few drinks, talk, eat and enjoy the view. My hubby's Aunt and Uncle are great hosts who leave you with a full tummy and a full glass...we could not have had anything better actually.  Hubby likes to take  tons of pictures but I am just showing a few before you nod off into boredom land:)

My hubby fishing hoping for the great huge pike...he got a little teeny weeny pike...of course he set it free.

We actually had rain which was refreshing but not a drop where we live. The one storm was quite violent.

Trees were uprooted and a trampoline was found on the major road along with power outages.

This river is extremely busy with all sorts of boats from sail boats, jet skis to  little yachts. These people know how to live.

There are many bird lovers around here and we were constantly entertained by all the birdies...

So have I bored you yet? I hope you enjoyed some of the pictures.....so long for now:)

Something Yummy plus a card!

I am so behind but I will be posting more pics and more cards! First I wish to say thank you to Jo from Jo on Food, Life and A Scent of Chocolate for her blog, her daily writes and wonderful recipes. She showed a great recipe (one of a gazillion!) which i tried out and it turned out great if I do say so myself. This is Spinach and ricotta half shells..if you want the recipe head on over to her blog, you are sure to have your mouth water and entertained.

I have actually created quite a few cards but my hubby is a camera nut and had over 500 pictures that I had to download. I just had time to post these 2 before I went on off to work. I actually spent a good part of my weekend in my craft room since I did not feel like being outside, sweating, bitching and turning into Queen B (not for my name). I can't wait for rain and cooler weather. So, without further delay, here is my card for today...

Animal Friends-Animal + Dies + punches
Color Q-Midnight muse, Concord Grape, Bermuda Bay, Gold, White-Closed now..Grrrr
Eclectic Ellapu-Pink Team-Anything Goes (AG)
Craft Your Passion-AG
Retro Rubber Challenge-Summertime RRCB43

I had fun creating this damsel of the seas. I bought this mermaid 1 1/2 years ago at the One of a Kind Show in Toronto and love her. I coloured her with tombow markers and created the inner sea with Tim Holtz dies of which i can't recall the names-sorry but it was a blue and green. I had this purple piece laying around from a former die cut and decided to use it as a frame and had the cuddlebug in use to create the sea design. I adhered all the paper to gold and calypso blue cardstock. I always love stickles and border stickers which I used gold to frame it all. The final bit was to punch out the dolphins in white and add some white dots here and there. I hope to showcase more cards in the very near future...

Thursday Movie Picks....Summer Camp

Sorry...Just a tad late...
Ughhh this was another hard one for me because I just feel that summer camp movies either involve stupid comedy bits with flashes of tits and ass or a serial killer nut job with lots of blood, dismemberment...and tits and ass. I have seen Parent Trap(the original) but not in a long, long time so I didn't pick this one. Listed below are my 3  but head on over to Wandering Through The Shelves to see the rest. I came back from a wonderful vacation in Quebec right on the Richelieu River which I will bore you with my pics later on. We have been busy getting back to norm so now I hope to soon make some cards and visit my mom!

1. LITTLE DARLINGS-1980

Whatever happened to Kristy McNichol? She plays a young gal from the wrong side of the tracks and Tatum O' Neil plays a sweet(HA) innocent from a privileged background. They both meet at summer camp and they start a contest as to who will have sex first. Of course there are a bunch of young girls in short shorts and other bad clothing that reeks '70s  fashion but there is a bit more to this story than one would expect. I haven't seen it in quite some time but it is still memorable since they both are surprised at what they end up finding out about sex and love.

2. ADDAM'S FAMILY VALUES-1999

This is a sequal to the first hit of this classic TV show from the 1960's and I love it because of the summer camp scene. Wednesday steels the show with her antics at summer camp sent there with her brother by the evil Debbie, a serial killer bent on killing Uncle Fester. As Debbie tries to kill Uncle Fester in many different ways, poor Wednesday, Pugsley and another boy have to deal with the sugar sweet antics at camp. Thankfully, Wednesday is able to save the day by holding the counsellors hostage and setting fire to the camp. This was just so funny and Christina Ricci as Wednesday really does steal the show. I would be on her side as well if I had to deal with that summer camp.

3. MOONRISE KINGDOM-2012

I bet this will be the popular movie for this week. Yup, it takes place at a summer camp on an island where one freaky child declares his love to another freaky child and they make their escape to be together. You have Edward Norton as the head of the summer camp, Bruce Willis as the local cop who is having an affair with France's McDormand, the mom of the freaky girl. Bill Murray is also involved in this quirky gale by Wes Anderson. It is ..quirky and you either like Wes Anderson or you don't. I like this film and find it quite engaging and well acted. It proves that Bruce Willis can do more than just his Die Hard flicks. Just a word of note, the director must love Alex Colville, the artist.

These are my 3. I have seen a scary flick where the  football guy and slutty cheerleader get whacked  at the beginning. The nerdy funny guy gets it later and so does the token black guy but the gal is successful after she runs very, very slowly, tripping and crying and breaking her high heel from the crazed maniac who is limping even more slowly behind her.....I hate those movies.

Wandering Through The Shelves-Female Ensemble

So, I am on vacation this week and we high-tailed it to My hubby's Aunt's Place who owns a home right on the Richelieu River which is near Montreal (she is South from This great city). I may not be visiting as much but we shall see. I hope to get back to card making sooner than later and maybe even some fun stories. Ya never know:) So this week is female ensemble movies and, at first, I was stumped  but then my mind started to snap and crackle. I am staying away from Steel Magnolias, Sex and the City and the First Wives Club and will, once again, go old school. They may be older films but they are goodies. Head on over to the host, Wandering Through The Shelves, to see what the others have picked. Here are my 3....

1.  THE WOMEN-1939

There isn't a man insight in this film but they are definitely the hot topic! The film starts by showing the women to their animal counterpart which made me laugh and grabbed me at the same time. A socialite woman finds out, via her "friends", that her husband is having an affair with a common shop gal who puts new meaning to the word bitch. You find out all the gossiping hijinks and how the husbands, never seen, carry on behind their wives. You meet the wives and some of the women they are carrying on with. In lesser hands this film would have been frightful but it is deftly directed by George Cukor whom all women adored. He brought out the best in their acting abilities and they were thankful for it. This film is still a heck of a lot better than the remake.

2. THREE CAME HOME-1950

This is a little known gem based on the memoirs of Agnes Newton Keith who lived with her husband and young son in North Borneo before the outbreak of World War 2. It shows how the family is separated once the Japanese have taken control of the place and the women are separated from their husbands and undergo brutal treatment. For a film made in 1950, it really conveys the brutality the women had to endure but it also showed how the one Japanese Commander, played brilliantly by Sessue Hawakawa,  sympathized with their ordeal. We feel their anguish, horror and hope as they live day in and day out in the camps. If you like World War 2 movies like this, then you should see this film.

3. HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONIARE-1953

Let's talk froth....This is the film for it. It is fun and better than one realizes once you sit down and let your 2015 way of thinking got bye-bye. 3 friends (I always think of them like the precursor to Charlie's Angels) decide to land a very wealthy husband and make their mark to land the gullible idiots. Lauren Bacall is behind the scheme and is the most cynical of the three. Betty Grable, the World War 2 pin-up queen is all sass  and Marilyn Monroe is all Ass...inine but fun. Actually, I feel Monroe steals the picture with her near sighted comedic approach and I am not a huge Monroe fan. Will the 3 gals get what they want? You just have to watch and see.

What films would you choose? In keeping with the animal spirit of the first film, which animal would describe you? I asked my hubby who said he would not even attempt to answer this because he would get in trouble. Of course, I prodded him and he quickly said A mouse! "Why am I a mouse?" He raised his hands in the air and said he knew he would be in trouble. I am laughing but I don't think I'm a mouse.....yup, he is in trouble.:)

Mock Squid Soup Film Society-My pick

I am sorry that I am not on the ball so this is a little late. I did re-watch the film and then forgot to post. Which film did I choose from the ever growing list?....

1. CARNIVAL OF SOULS-1962

Over at the Armchair Squid you can see what the other guys and gals have chosen for this months pick.  This was originally discussed by Jessica Marie and this is one horror film that I do love. If you are expecting amazing effects and a huge budget, this is not the film for you. This film was done on a shoestring and didn't do well when it first came out but is now considered a cult classic. Think Twilight Zone!

A young lady, with her friends ends up in a car accident, She comes out of the water and is attended to as she seems really out of it but, physically, unscathed. She accepts a job in another town as a church organist but is followed by a very creepy pasty guy who never says a word. On her way to the town, the bus drives by an old pavilion that she sees in the distance and she is strangely drawn to it. She finds a room  and starts going about her life but at times she seems out of sync with everyone else. She literally lands in the arms of a psychiatrist who wishes to help her.

Even though the film shows the roughness of a B movie, it is intelligent, well acted and right down creepy. The music really lends to the story and moves the story along. The pavilion is real but I doubt it is still in existence.

If you get a chance, and you like The Twilight Zone, then take a gander at this film.

Thursday Movie picks-Single Location movies

I can't believe it's July already and it's hot, hot, hot....which I hate, hate, hate. Now I am Canadian which means we always bitch about the weather. The good news is next week my hubby and I are travelling to Quebec to visit his Aunt who lives right on the Richelieu River. He will be bringing his kayak and we will enjoy being away from our home and I am Hoping to see a dear friend of mine who will be in Montreal  for his sister's wedding. I am also hoping his aunt has wi-fi but I just don't know. So if you don't see me much, then that's the reason. So this week, at Wandering Through The Shelves, the theme is one location films and since I already used Lifeboat(Alfred Hitchcock) I had to think of others and here are my 3 picks...

1.  THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC- 1928

If I said I had a religious experience watching this film would you think I am nuts? Would I care? Well, I bet you know the answer to that:) I had the honour of viewing this film with my best friend last year in a church with Chorus Niagara singing to this silent masterpiece. The set is very minimalistic and you don't care because you are watching a tour de force performance by Falconetti playing Joan of Arc. The camera is almost always on her face and her acting is sublime. The fear, pain and majesty that this saint would have is brilliantly shown in this actress's hands. If you ever get a chance to see this film...see it!

2. REAR WINDOW-1954

This stars James Stewart and Grace Kelly  with the great Alfred Hitchcock directing. I love this film because it is just so well handled from the director and stars down to the sets. This all takes place from the scene you see in the film. Stewart plays a photographer with a broken leg who is completely immobilized and must depend on his girlfriend and his support worker to see to his basic needs. He fills his days watching the goings on of all the tenants he can see from his livingroom window. We meet Miss Lonely hearts, the newlyweds to the gal who likes to dance in her underwear. We also view a menacing Raymond Burr attend to his ailing wife. One day his wife is no longer in her bed and We become embroiled in Stewart's theory that she is no longer of this earth. We become the voyeurs and enjoy watching what everyone is up to. It speaks to who we are as humans.

3. 12 ANGRY MEN-1957

I can watch this movie again and again. I may have even talked about it before but I am talking about it again. It starts off that we see the face of the accused and we can tell that this kid is innocent but that is just the beginning. We are brought into a room with 12 jurors who must determine whether the kid is guilty or not.  We not only feel the sweltering heat from outside but the heated exchanges between most of the jurors and the one man who says the kid is innocent, played by Henry Fonda. This is not only an excellent character study but a study on race, age, ignorance, anger....a brilliant film that is another must see.

So what films would you choose??

Why not? I'm Doing th TMI

It might already be closed but I'm now feeling better( finally) and I decided to do the TMI blog fest which has turned 5! You can find this over at Debbie The Dog Ladys Den blog. The questions follow the letters of the alphabet...yup, just like the A to Z challenge. So without further adieu, here we go( please say this like Jackie Gleason).

1. AGE- 52(1964) or as I like to say, the new 25

2. BIGGEST FEAR- that I'll kick the bucket when I'm 66. Why that number?? I'll let you guess but no one close to me died at that age...it's actually quite stupid that's why this fear is irrational and downright silly.

3.  CURRENT TIME- 7:43am but I'll be writing this throughout the day. Isn't this a thrilling read?

4. DRINK YOU LAST HAD- Long Island Iced Tea...A good way to start the morning(hiccup).

5. EVERY DAY STARTS WITH- a cat on my chest. I wish it was my hubby

6. FAVOURITE SONG-really? Just one?? Ok, it's Umbrella by Rihanna, that annoying song that...oh wait, favourite song....I love The Third Man Theme, To Dream The Impossible Dream, Nights in White Satin...Just say anything by the Moody Blues and anything ABBA

7. GHOSTS-ARE THEY REAL? I am leaning towards ...yes just because of things I have heard and felt. I was very sad that my dad wasn't with us one Christmas and suddenly I felt his hand patting me on my shoulder like he always did when I was down. No I did not have any tequila shots. Those shows about real ghost hunters are beyond stupid though

8. HOMETOWN-I was born in the majestic (HA!) town of Welland, Ont. and grew up in the country near the metropolis called Wainfleet (4 churches and a dry town until the last 15 years or so)

9. IN LOVE WITH- Hugh Jackman. Oh you mean seriously?....Hugh Jackman

10. JEALOUS OF- I'm not a jealous sort but I do want to bitch slap people who say they can eat chocolate and whipped cream and still can't gain any weight. Also women who say they never had any issues with PMS or menopause. I really do want to bitch slap them:)

11. KILLED SOMEONE? - You mean, on purpose? No No I'm just kidding. I have never killed anyone...just in my thoughts. I am now laughing like some banshee

12. LAST TIME YOU CRIED- Yesterday....

13. MIDDLE NAME- Maria. Now all of you must sing that song from West Side Story

14. NUMBER OF SIBLINGS- 2-Full brother (I believe he is full unless he hasn't had lunch yet) and my wonderful half-sister (my dad had an oopsy back in 1947 way before he met my mom)

15. ONE WISH- To not feel constant, tiring pain 24/7...and to have Trump's hair fall off while on TV

16. PERSON YOU LAST CALLED- My Brother who is soon to be in the Freedom 55 club:)

17. QUESTION YOU'RE ALWAYS ASKED- "What nationality are you?" It's my name..I was born and raised, proudly, Canadian but this comes up daily. One day I will say Swahili which will really make their head spin.

18. REASON TO SMILE- My fur babies, My hubby, a funny movie, a funny video, time with loved ones, beautiful flowers, animals, nature, seeing a young man's pants fall down

19. SOUNDS THAT ANNOY YOU- young women who always talk through their nose and stretch a certain vowel. BITCH SLAP! Crying, tantrum brats, not the babies who are hungry or are hurt, but brats who are brats and the parents who either say or do nothing but do not follow through on their threat....BITCH SLAP! Also, nails on a chalkboard

20. TIME YOU WOKE UP-Physically-6:00am Mentally, 10am:)

21. UNDERWEAR COLOUR-Plaid

22. VACATION DESTINATION-Europe...anywhere...oh you mean for real? Travelling near Montreal next week:)

23. WORST HABIT- My hubby could rhyme off a dozen but I will say I worry too much. I try to work on this but it's part of my make-up. I say "No" a lot plus I hog the remote

24. X-RAYS YOU'VE HAD-Neck, shoulders, hands, hips, knees, feet, chest. Due to my Ehlers-Danlos, I have had a number of joint dislocations and whiplash. Geez...I should just say my whole body:)

25. YOUR FAVOURITE FOOD-chocolate, nice German Torte, Rouladen with spaetzle and red cabbage-yum, yum. Did I mention chocolate?

26. ZODIAC SIGN-The best sign...Gemini! My hubby is one as well so we not only drive each other nuts but our friends as well.